Some Notes On Gender Segregation Seating

By Imtiyaz Razak - December 15, 2013 |

Dr.Imtiyaz Razak

As a human being first, and Muslim second, I strictly oppose the segregation of any kind: class, gender, sex, ethnicity, and you name it.  I have been following the recent developments related to segregation of lectures along gender line in the UK.  Accounts suggest that British Universities allow segregation “if the segregation represented the “genuinely held religious beliefs” of the hosts, separate seating could be upheld.”

The training course at Leicester University (left), featuring guest speaker Saleem Chagtai (right), was held by the same Islamic society which put up a sign separating women and men at a public lecture / Photo Daily Mail UK

Whether the decision the university took with regard to segregation is correct, I truly do not know. But I would like to share my experiences in seeing female students class seating both in China and the US, the two big countries where secularism rocks the society, and some notes on women agency and developments.
The classes that I have taught both in China and the US are mostly filled with non-Muslim students and some classes, female students dominate class population.  I found that female students both in male students dominated and female students dominated class rooms, mainly non-Muslim women many times choose not to sit next to male students. They would either prefer to sit behind the row where male-students sit or keep significant distance from male students.   Of course, there are no requests either from schools or from me as far as class seating are concerned. But I often find female students tend to sit separately from male students.Read More